MANILA, May 18 (OPAPP) — Congress should heed the voice of the majority of the people in the proposed core territory of the Bangsamoro who favor the replacement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) government by the Bangsamoro.
This was the appeal aired to Congress last Friday by government chief negotiator Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer as she attended a forum held at the University of the Philippines where Asia Foundation country director Steven Rood and Social Weather Stations chief Mahar Mangahas presented latest poll results related to the Mindanao peace process and the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) which is pending approval of Congress.
“Although the survey indicated that 48 percent of Filipinos may not favor the BBL, it also shows an overwhelming majority of the people in the proposed territory of the Bangsamoro in Mindanao who want it,” she said.
Ferrer was referring to the Social Weather Stations (SWS) report on a separate survey conducted in the proposed Bangsamoro core territory and adjoining areas on February 22-March 1 this year, or a month after the Mamasapano tragedy.
The survey showed an overwhelming majority of voters approve of the BBL in the provinces of Maguindanao (83% approve versus 3% disapprove), Lanao del Sur (90% approve vs 4% disapprove), Basilan (59% approve, 12% disapprove) and Tawi- Tawi (52% approve, 22% disapprove), Cotabato City (76% approve, 6% disapprove), and adjoining areas in Lanao del Norte(83% approve, 6% disapprove) and Cotabato province (93% approve, 2% disapprove).
The February SWS survey also indicated that the highest number of voters still undecided on the BBL was found in the province of Sulu and Isabela City in Basilan. Despite this, those who approve of the BBL in Sulu province were bigger at 31 percent over those who disapprove of the BBL which were measured at only 14 percent of voters there. The same situation was found in Isabela City, where 38 percent said they approve of the BBL, 40 percent undecided, and only 29 percent disapprove of the proposed law. The February SWS special survey had a sample size of 1,900.
These findings in the proposed Bangsamoro core territory and adjoining areas contrasted markedly with the findings in a survey a month later by SWS nationwide on March 20-23, where results showed that approval rating nationwide for replacing the ARMM with the Bangsamoro reached only 23 percent while disapproval was measured at 48 percent, with 28 percent undecided.
Wide gap in views
Ferrer said the wide gap in the opinion of those living in the proposed Bangsamoro and Filipinos outside the region “is precisely the root of the problem.”
“The people in the margins are not your average Filipino. They have different needs and perspectives that are not understood by the majority,” she said.
“Skewing happens when you aggregate local data with Mindanao-wide or country-wide results. The national data drowns out the voices of the minority,” she added.
This is also the case in the Pulse Asia survey released in March, according to Ferrer. Lanao del Sur, the sole area in the ARMM included in the Pulse Asia survey showed 91 percent approval for the BBL while the total approval rating in the whole country was a low 21 percent.
“The Bangsamoro people’s opinion needs to be heard more because the BBL primarily concerns them,” Ferrer said.
“We ask our congressmen and senators to recognize this very strong support within the Bangsamoro core territory for the passage of the BBL because they are the ones who will be affected by our legislators’ vote,” the chief negotiator appealed.
Peaceful option preferred
According to Dr. Steven Rood of The Asia Foundation, it is important to note that historically, even after the “upsurge of violence after the failed MoA-AD (Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain), surveys revealed that Filipinos in general still want a peaceful resolution to the Mindanao conflict.”
“That is also true after Mamasapano. This is a very important point. Politicians shouldn’t believe otherwise,” Rood stressed when he presented the survey results showing that 45 percent of Filipinos prefer peaceful negotiations with the MILF while only 20 percent believed that military operations are the way to go.
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said that the “most important for me is the general public’s support and preference for a peaceful resolution over militaristic actions to the conflict in Mindanao.” Iqbal added that the survey results could aid Bangsamoro supporters in planning where communication efforts are needed.
Ferrer acknowledged that the SWS findings indicated that the general Filipino public was overwhelmed by the Mamasapano tragedy.
“We hope the results of the various investigations and the recommended filing of charges would answer the quest for justice for those who lost their lives in this tragic incident,” she said.
Ferrer thanked the chairs of the lead committees in Congress for their tireless work on the proposed Bangsamoro law.
